After two misses with Never Surrender and Death Warrior, will a third attempt be successful for fighter-turned-filmmaker Hector Echevarria? Sadly, the answer is no, as the problems that marred the first two films are still present here.
Echevarria plays the role of Ringo Duran, a fighter who is haunted by failure and whose best moments are already in the past. Receiving only $500 for one fight, he owed the purchase amount to the loan shark Sergio (Al Sapienza). To make ends meet, Ringo works as a bartender at a local strip club. At the local gym where he trains, he is constantly pestered by young Alonso (Kate Jardine).
However, Ringo will soon have the opportunity to change his destiny. There is a professional fighting tournament ahead, the winner of which will receive $100. Then he can not only make ends meet, but also defeat the current world champion Christopher “Abs” Holland (Rashad Evans). Ringo begins preparing for the tournament, determined to prove himself right by becoming the winner.
As the saying goes, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” With two failures in 2008 (Never Back Down) and 2009 (Deadly Warrior), you'd think Hector would have learned his lesson. Don't get me wrong. Echevarria is a great fighter and works well with other choreographers. However, he definitely needs to work on his editing and camera angles when it comes to his fight choreography. This time, he personally came up with the choreography for all the fights, instead of using the help of real mix fighters appearing on screen. Their performance once again suffered from the same mistakes as the first two films. There are too many short cuts and excessive close-ups. The attempt to use a long sequence with slow motion in places could have worked if it had been executed better.
As mentioned earlier, the tournament fighters were true mix fighters. Rashad “Sugar” Evans plays the role of the reigning champion, willing to do anything to retain his title. Keith Jardine, who plays the hot-tempered Alonso, constantly teases Ringo about his age. Forrest Griffin and Nate Marquardt also star as tournament fighters. While Evans' character is the champion, the real villain comes in the form of loan shark Sergio, played by soap opera veteran Al Sapienza. Sergio looks like a real scumbag on screen, ready to do anything for money.
Another weakness is the script, written by Echevarria, Brad Bode and director Warren P. Sonoda. Once again, gratuitous nudity comes into play, and again at the wrong time. In the strip club there are scenes of slow-motion erotic dancing that defy understanding and are inserted unnecessarily. On the plus side, the soft erotica that became boring in “Never Back Down” and diminished in “Deadly Warrior” practically fades away with only one love scene in the entire film, but even that won’t help you endure watching a slow-motion striptease.
“Unrivaled” could describe the charm of Hector Echevarria. However, it ended in failure, just like in the previous MMA films he worked on. Since he plans to make several more films with similar themes, he needs to try to do something different and work with more talented fight directors, learning from those he works with. This movie is best rented and watched for yourself, but you may be disappointed at the end.
Author: Albert Valentin
Source: kungfucinema
Translation: EvilDollaR
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Tags: Unrivaled, Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Warren P. Sonoda, Hector Echavarria
Tags: Unrivaled, Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Warren P. Sonoda, Hector Echavarria
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